Lifestyles

Tips on growing your own chile peppers in Colorado

Colorado chile-heads tend to view hot peppers with near-religious fervor, regarding the potent pods of red and green as sacramental as communion wafers, albeit with a capsicum kick.

And while we buy them by the sackful at grocery stores, farmer's markets and roadside stands, there is no reason you can't grow batches in your own yard.

Although they take a bit of tending, peppers are not as delicate as some garden plants, such as tomatoes. With a little effort, you can grow your own Big Jims, Anaheims, jalapeños, habaneros, Moscos, Sandias and Dynamite varieties, the latter being the pride of southern Colorado, home to the state's best peppers.

You won't be putting the farmers in Hatch, N.M., out of business, but you'll harvest loads of flavor from your own patch of ground. And the distinctive aroma of chiles roasting on the grill will make you one of the most popular folks in the neighborhood.

Warm weather is what you want. Chiles flourish in the heat, preferably around 80 degrees during the day and about 60 degrees at night. Below that, and growing gets sluggish.

Robert Cox, a horticulture agent with CSU's extension service, recommends putting peppers into the ground around May 30, when night-time temperatures are regularly above 50 degrees. More on that later.

(Photos: istockphoto)

If you're hot to raise your own chiles from seed, you've missed your window. You want to start them indoors in late March or early April, eight weeks before the last frost. In most of Colorado, the frost threat diminishes after the third week of May, freak June snows notwithstanding.

The good thing is, most garden centers sell a truly wide variety of chiles these days. So how do you choose seedlings?

Cox recommends choosing pepper seedlings that are shorter and stockier, rather than tall and spindly (taller seedlings may have not received enough light or air movement.) Pick seedlings with dark green leaves.

Some gardeners use fertilizer; others don't. Many use a fertilizer that's a weak but balanced blend of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Fertilize once after the plants go into the garden, then again about a month later.

Chiles like sandy soil or a silt-loam mix. A light helping of processed manure is recommended (cattle or sheep, though the latter is more expensive.) Use only a moderate amount, per the bag's instructions, to avoid nitrogen burn on the plants.

Try dusting the top of the soil with a super-thin layer of magnesium-rich Epsom salts, working it in.

Plants that are started indoors must get acclimated gradually to the outdoors, a process that should start about two weeks before they go into the ground. Set them out in their containers at ever-increasing time spans, sheltered from the wind — sort of like you'd condition your skin before a beach trip.

Take care to treat the root systems delicately when setting them into the ground. Place the plants about 2 feet apart — they'll surprise you by how bushy they can get. Peppers have an odd way of crossbreeding, so keep hot and sweet varieties apart from each other. You don't want sweet peppers that zap the tongue, nor do you want jalapeños or serranos that are 90-pound weaklings.

Chiles need water, of course, but you don't want to turn your pepper patch into a bog. However, you do want to keep the soil moist, because plants that become too thirsty can result in dropped blossoms or a failure of the fruit to set. Make sure the soil drains well and that it receives full sun.

Water early in the day so the leaves don't get sun-scorched. Residual water on the leaves acts as a prism in the hot sun, leaving leaves discolored. Weed the plants by hand.

When the plants flower, you can help them pollinate by running a finger tip around the middle of the bloom, which will help move the pollen to the stamen. The petals will eventually drop, leaving the budding pepper to form.

Plant the seeds — next year

If you're dead-set on having a grown-from-seed chile garden, you can always plan and buy for next year. Seeds can remain fertile for up to five years, though it's best to use them within a year.

Keep your package of seeds sealed and in a cool, dry place. Some people opt to keep them in the refrigerator, though you'll want to return them to room temperature before planting.

The next step is germination, the process that turns seeds into seedlings. The keys are heat, moisture and oxygen. Cut holes in a plastic box. Place your seeds on a bed of soilless mix, then cover with another thin layer so the seeds are just below the surface. The seeds have a finite amount of energy, and you don't want them to burn it up before they reach the surface like a sprinter running out of gas before the finish line.

It may take a few days to a few weeks for seedlings to emerge. Once a second set of leaves appears on the plants, transfer them to a larger pot.

When you're choosing a chile variety, consider the "days to maturity" of that chile, and whether you'll be eating them red or green. Red chiles are fully mature green chiles — so more time on the plant is needed to allow them to fully ripen..

"There's now not enough time in the remaining growing season to start chiles indoors, harden them before planting, and allow them to mature over what's left of the growing season to red chiles," Cox says. And that's the challenge of growing chiles in Colorado in a nutshell: You have to be thinking far ahead, and you're always racing the weather.

Harvest time typically arrives around August. You'll want to use scissors or a knife to remove them from the stem.

If you prefer your peppers roasted, fire up your grill or range and blister them on all sides. Place them in a paper bag for a few minutes to sweat them, then peel the charred flesh off. (Avoid touching your eyes while doing this).

Then wait for the doorbell to ring. It will be your next-door neighbors, homing in on the aroma.

William Porter: 303-954-1877, wporter@denverpost.com or twitter.com/williamporterdp

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